Immunity boosters and hand sanitizer are on most back-to-school shopping lists as consumers prepare their families for the inevitable sniffles, sneezes and coughs associated with the cold and flu season. As many as 53.5% of shoppers are placing hand sanitizer into that BTS basket, according to a survey conducted by Field Agent on behalf of Drug Store News, and 50.3% are stocking up on immunity boosting supplements.

Abuse of the cough ingredient dextromethorphan among high school seniors is down, according to this year’s Monitoring the Future survey, which measures drug use and attitudes among the nation’s eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders.

The voluntary action taken five years ago by manufacturers of cough and cold medicines — namely to no longer recommend the use of OTC cough-cold products in children under the age of 4 years unless directed to do so by a doctor — has worked, according to a study published Monday online by Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The coming cough-cold season is difficult to project. On one hand, this year's cough-cold incidence will be going against very strong illness rate numbers from last year. In addition, with both McNeil Consumer and Novartis Consumer supporting the relaunch of a number of cough-cold products, the category is expected to be very promotional this season, a factor that could squeeze margins.

The dramatic expansion in the number of pharmacists who can give vaccinations and the range of vaccinations they can deliver has occurred just as an epidemic of whooping cough has spread across the country.

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SPECIAL REPORTS

Pharmacy’s battle for recognition continues

Fifty years ago this summer, President Lyndon B. Johnson secured his place in history by signing into law the legislation that created Medicare and Medicaid. To commemorate the anniversary, Drug Store News has put together an exclusive report on the effect that Medicare and Medicaid have had on the retail pharmacy industry and how it has transformed the role of the pharmacist. more...

IN THIS ISSUE

In this issue, DSN profiles Rite Aid and how the company is achieving a vision to become a retail healthcare company that delivers a higher level of care to its communities; takes you on a tour of Sears; offers insight into millennial shoppers and more. Click here to view the issue.